


A snowy night

by polikszena



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Mild Sexual Content, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:27:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28600668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polikszena/pseuds/polikszena
Summary: It's Mary and Matthew's first Christmas together as a married couple, and Matthew is on his way home after work, but there's snow, and a traffic jam, and on top of that Robert has asked him a favor, too, while Mary is at their flat with the decorated tree and the dinner, waiting for him. Sets in a Modern AU.
Relationships: Mary Crawley/Matthew Crawley
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	A snowy night

**Author's Note:**

> I know this is quite late, as it's January already, but it took me a while to finish this one and I didn't want to wait until next December to publish it, because who knows what would be in my head at that time. Take it as a present from Los Reyes Magos. :P Modern AU Mary/Matthew fluff with some mild sexual content (rated as Mature to be safe)
> 
> Also, this is very loosely inspired by the song "Underneath the Mistletoe" by Sia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO5dslkqm-c&ab_channel=SpotOn_Lyrics)

Matthew Crawley had never been happier stepping out of the office than on the 24th of December. It seemed that the day would never come to an end and he would never finish his tasks, but at five o’clock in the afternoon, he was free at last and wouldn’t see the office until January next year. Not that he didn’t love his job – he did, a lot, but this was his first Christmas with Mary as husband and wife, and since the next day they would go to Downton, their only opportunity to celebrate alone together was on Christmas Eve. He couldn’t wait to go home.

However, the smile faded from his face, when stepping out to the street, he saw the snow. He was so immersed in his work that he didn’t even notice it had started falling. Well, it had, and it still didn’t stop. Which would be a nice thing on Christmas Eve if he didn’t have to drive home. And before that he had to go into that old bookshop, because Robert asked him to go there for Mary’s present: a few vintage issues of Vogue he had found in an online auction. Matthew knew she would love them, although she wouldn’t be happy to know that due to that he would arrive with even further delay.

Mary Crawley rolled her eyes when she read Matthew’s message that he had to run a few errands for Robert. She couldn’t believe that her father knew she was finishing earlier at work, yet he still asked Matthew to do things for him. She could have been perfectly capable of doing it! She hated when Robert ignored his independent and clever daughters, because now he had a son. A son-in-law, but it was still a son. Who worked the whole day, had to drive home in the snow on Christmas Eve, and now Robert wanted something from him as well. When Mary had her afternoon free, so she could have done it easily. Now due to that heaven knew when Matthew would get home.

Her gaze shifted at the neatly set table and the food she ordered from their favourite Italian restaurant. It wasn’t very festive, but she knew that once they arrive to Downton, they would have more than enough Christmas food. In the living room there stood the tree which they had decorated two days before and they managed to do it with only a minor fight. Mary had put on a red cocktail dress with a Christmas tree brooch for the evening, however, after reading Matthew’s message, she wasn’t exactly in a festive mood. In order to change that, she opened their Christmas playlist (which was originally hers, but she let Matthew add his favourites, too) and let Mariah Carey’s voice fill the flat. The song _All I Want for Christmas Is You_ had never felt more accurate.

Matthew watched the windscreen wiper sweeping the snow off the windscreen of his car. He got Robert’s present, now it was hidden in his bag, hopefully far enough from Mary’s eyes, so now he only had to get through the traffic jam. Which was more difficult than it sounded, as it was Christmas Eve and the snow still didn’t seem to stop. White Christmas was quite rare in this part of England, and although it was a nice sight, he would have been glad if it could wait a few hours more. Like until he got home.

With a sigh he switched off the music on his phone. He didn’t find it funny anymore blasting a Summer Hits playlist – not when he was stuck in a traffic jam in the snow on Christmas Eve. He turned on the radio, but immediately turned it off as _Last Christmas_ was on. The queue moved forward a little, so Matthew went along with it. He sent another message to Mary, letting her know that he was on his way. Then, to get more into the mood, he turned on the Christmas playlist they had made together.

“For God’s sake,” Mary sighed, and when Matthew turned on the Christmas playlist, she turned it off. According to his last message, he was still in the traffic jam, having no idea when he could get out of it. At least he was done with the mission for Robert. Whatever it was, it still made her angry. Not with Matthew, but with her father for asking him instead of her who would have had the time of it. Throwing a glance at the clock, she let out another sigh, then went to the bedroom and changed into a pair of jeans and a dark blue long-sleeved top.

* * *

She was playing on her phone when she heard the door opening. Entering the flat, Matthew Crawley dropped his bag on the floor. Snow was still melting on his black wool coat; he was tired, but relieved that he had arrived home at last.

“I’m so sorry,” he began. “The city was full and the snow just…”

But he couldn’t finish as Mary’s arms slid around his neck and her body pressed against his. Originally, she wasn’t planning to jump at him like this, but the hours she spent waiting only made her hungrier for him. His arrival was like a match thrown onto the firewood.

“What did Papa want?” she asked, burying her face into his neck; her warm breath tickling his cold skin.

“Top secret Christmas business,” he replied, now with his arms around her.

“He could have asked me, I had all the afternoon off, while you were slaving in the office,” she said, getting slightly angry again.

Matthew knew if he told her Robert couldn’t have asked anyone else, she would want to know the reason why which he obviously couldn’t tell her. Which would make her angrier and put an end on their celebration together. And he didn’t want that. Especially not when he saw no point of arguing. Especially not at Christmas.

“It’s done now and that’s what matters,” he finally said. “And now I want to forget about this terribly long day, so kiss me and make that happen.”

Mary knew that despite her anger, it was no point of discussing it with Matthew as her problem wasn’t with him. And he was right, it was done and talking about it more would take more time off their celebration together. Which she didn’t want. So in the end she did what he asked her and gave him a kiss that wiped every thought out of his head.

A kiss that also made him realise he was still wearing his coat, so he had to break it in order to take it off, followed by Mary’s giggle who was happy to help him with it. Once the coat was on the hanger, he pulled her into his arms again and they continued where they left off. Her right hand slid to the back of his head, making him smile into the kiss as her fingers tickled his earlobe. Her left hand was on his chest, now holding onto his knitted jumper when he kissed her with more passion, capturing her mouth with his. His fingers trailed down on her neck and she gasped as she felt the cold touch on her skin.

“What is it?” he asked, almost whispering.

“Your hands are cold,” she answered. It didn’t feel bad, but due to her arousal her skin was warmer than the usual and the contrast with his cold skin was too sharp.

“I forgot my gloves at home,” he said, then led by a sudden idea, he started kissing her neck, following the line drawn by his fingers.

A sigh escaped Mary’s mouth as she felt his soft and warm lips on her skin. Her hand ran through his hair as he continued kissing her, now along the neckline of her top.

“You said you would be in your red dress,” he murmured into her neck.

“I had it on, but I got angry, so I changed,” she said.

“It makes things easier for me,” he smiled, pulling his arms tighter around her.

“Why?” she wondered, as she thought trousers were harder to take off, or at least to get them out of the way.

“One word,” he began, now looking into her eyes. “Tights. Absolute horror.”

She couldn’t help laughing at his comment, although she had to agree with him: tights could be a nightmare, even for someone who wore them almost every day.

“Lucky you, then,” she said, cupping his face with one hand and leading him into another kiss.

* * *

Matthew’s jumper landed on the floor not long after they entered the living room, breaking apart only for the moment he pulled it over his head. Then Mary’s lips were on his again, her hands on his chest, gently pushing him against the wall. He wasn’t expecting such a warm welcome from her – he thought they would have dinner first, but he didn’t mind the change of plans. Although the long day at work and the ride home had worn him out, as he walked up the stairs to their flat, he got excited again. And his excitement only grew when Mary jumped into his arms. She was on fire and he happily burned with her.

His back hit the light switch, so now the room was only lit by the Christmas tree, making both of them chuckle.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, feeling a little shy now, as normally she wasn’t so passionate, at least not at this stage. But the long wait, the stress and anger combined with their first Christmas together seemed to bring out this side of her.

“It’s fine,” he said with a smile, being rather pleased with this new side of his wife. “Shall I switch it back on?” he wondered.

“No,” she answered after looking around the room. She had to state in mind that they did a good job with the tree: it was stunning. “I like it that way.”

“Very festive,” he agreed, pulling her closer to himself again.

Her lips traced along his jawline toward his ear when he slid his hand underneath her top and up on her back, making her shiver.

“For heaven’s sake, do something with your hands,” she mumbled, as his touch still felt as cold as if he had icicles for fingers.

“Sorry,” he said. “Still cold?”

“Compared to you, Jack Frost is a radiator,” she teased him.

“Says Lady Coldfeet,” he teased her back, but nevertheless, he rubbed his hands together to make them warmer before touching her again. “Better?” he asked, cupping her face in both his hands then sliding them slowly down on her neck.

She nodded hear head and her lips curled up into a smile as he moved his hands downwards, gently running across her breasts and her side, stopping at the end of her dark blue top. With a small laugh, Mary raised her arms, letting him pull it off her.

* * *

“It’s kind of funny that you’ve got no shirt, but still have your shoes on,” Mary commented watching Matthew sit on the bed to take off his shoes. His shirt and his vest were on the floor somewhere between the living room and the bedroom.

“It’s not my fault,” he replied, pulling off his socks, too. “You know, _someone_ threw herself at me when I set foot in the flat,” he teased her.

“You didn’t seem to mind it,” she said, and while he wasn’t looking, she took off her bra and threw it onto the bed.

“I still don’t mind it,” he said, glancing over to see what fell on the bed and when he turned back, Mary was standing in front of him, now wearing her jeans only. He wasn’t expecting that, at least not yet. His stomach jumped at the sight and he just sat and stared at her for a moment, admiring her beauty. A smile touched Mary’s lips seeing the amazement in his eyes and with her heart skipping a beat, she lifted a hand and gently caressed his cheek.

“Good,” she said.

That was the last thing she could say for quite a while, thanks to his hands and his mouth that followed them. Her fingers tangled into his hair, pulling him closer with her head spinning and her knees trembling. The next time she managed to utter anything consecutive was when she felt him unbuttoning her jeans.

“Do you remember when Rose thought it would be funny buying everyone festive underwear for Christmas?” she asked, idly stroking his bare arms. “Well, to everyone under sixty.”

“I don’t think I could ever forget Robert’s face when he saw the Santa underwear,” he replied with a chuckle.

“I’ve thought you got the one with Santa,” she furrowed her brows.

“No, mine have gingerbread men.”

“Really?”

“Really,” he said getting up, then he took off his trousers. Indeed, he was wearing a pair of burgundy boxer briefs with three gingerbread men printed on them, making Mary laugh so hard that she involuntarily lifted a hand to cover her mouth.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, a little confused.

“I can’t believe we have matching Christmas underwear,” she explained, and as he still looked quite confused, she took off her jeans, too, showing him her knickers with three gingerbread women with little bows on their heads.

“I can’t believe we’re both wearing them,” Matthew said, now laughing, too.

“It’s Christmas, when else should we wear them?” she wondered.

“Well, I wore mine once last summer,” he admitted.

“Outrage!” Mary whispered with fake astonishment as she stepped to him.

“Those were the only clean ones, I had no choice,” he defended himself.

“Of course,” Mary said, giggling, and placed both her hands on his chest. She was still giggling when he kissed her, cupping her face with both hands. It started as a light, gentle kiss and as she returned it, he made it heavier, steamier, making the blood rush through her veins. They were both catching their breath when their lips parted, then Mary took Matthew’s hand and led him to the bed.

* * *

His heartbeat was getting back to normal and he was idly stroking her hair as they lied in each other’s arms, worn-out but relaxed. She was resting her head on his chest, still trembling a little as the last waves of pleasure ran through her body. Then she heard that strange growling sound.

“What was that?” Mary asked, lifting her head to look at him.

“My stomach,” he replied with a chuckle.

“I’m sorry,” she apologised, stroking his arm. “I should have let you eat first instead of jumping at you right away.”

“If you hadn’t done it, _I_ would have jumped at you,” he told her with a smile.

“Good answer,” she said and moved upwards on the bed in order to kiss him. It was soft and gentle, but still made his heart flutter. “Anyway, the food is in the kitchen,” she continued, now laying her head on his shoulder. “We just have to heat it up.”

“But first we have to go to the kitchen,” he added.

“Yes. And put something on,” she said. “It’s quite cold out there.”

“Indeed,” he agreed with a small laugh. “Let’s go then.”

But none of them moved.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally, I was planning to turn it into smut, but as I was writing it, it just didn't seem to work, so I decided to concentrate on the fluffy parts instead. And on the silly parts.


End file.
